Rooms with views

I am writing this post as an addendum to the previous post on 'dreaming up a life lived outdoors'. The following are a collection of rooms that have been an inspiration in the design of indoor-outdoor spaces in our house in Goa.

The first picture is of the famous 'loo with a view' at the Neemrana Fort Palace. Some 15 years back, I had interned with an architect on a design job at the Neemrana Fort Palace. Along with the gorgeousness of the palace hotel, the super attention to every detail in design, construction and finishes, the 'loo with the view' left a deep impression on my mind. It represents the fun in architecture and represents the luxury of living away from the swarming crowds and making everyday moments grander, exciting, liberating and inspiring.

Another space that has been a recent inspiration is

Leti 360

, a beautiful hotel nestled in the Himalayas. The hotel is designed by one of my favorite contemporary Indian architect

Bijoy Jain

. I love the way he has succeeded in using local materials in a very contemporary design and blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.

Two images below are from the

'house on the ridge'

near Pune designed by Opolis Architects. This is a truly inspiring space. Notice the size and proportions of the interior space and how it flows into the outdoors through a completely movable wall. Also, note the windows in the top that keep the space filled with light making it look big and airy.

Then there is the following house in Denmark that was recently

featured in NYTimes

. I can't get enough of the uncluttered large spaces with clean lines, minimal furniture and color. There is nothing to distract you from the most important aesthetic of bringing the outdoors into the indoors. Notice the use of textured stone in the bathroom where one would walk bare feet, a little detail that will probably go unnoticed but adds so much to the experience of living in the house.